Chicago Summer Birthday Tour!

I made an epic photo collage of my summer vacation! My friends are just so darn photogenic, it had to be done. I will include annotations/explanations at the end of all your scrolling.

1. Debie and I flew to Chicago for a girls' weekend with Lani so we could properly celebrate Debie's birthday! This involved an appropriate amount of sweets. Now I want the Hoosier Mama pie book so badly, the passionfruit meringue pie was out of this world.

2. Hanging out with DJ Lani Love means lots of comped champagne, I found out. She's just that cool. And also many people recognize her solely based on her asymmetrical haircut.

3. I crashed while riding Chicago's bikeshare. Totally wiped out after skidding out on sand (which I hadn't encountered on D.C.'s bikeshare). So ironic because I was trying to help newbie bike rider Debie and then I was the one who crashed. Ha. I just jumped off though, no injuries. 

4. I haven't been to a proper "club" in a while, and it cracked me up to see all the people crowded outside Underground when we got out. They looked so needy, pressed up against the fence. And the line was at least a hundred people deep! And everyone in line was beautiful. I told Joe, "It was like a zoo for beautiful people." So funny.

 5. We were lucky enough to go to a fab Neiman Marcus "Wake Up Your Makeup" event, which involved getting a swag bag with soo many samples (there we are evaluating the loot). I also won something, which never happens. They called my name, "Adele Chopin," and I continued surfing the Internet until Debie and Lani said, "Adele, that's you!" Also, unfortunately, the lady at the airport called me "Mr" — that's a first with the new haircut — so my new alias is Mr. Chopin. I won a three-step Clinque system. I am digging it so far! The Dramatically Different lotion is really nice. I had to check my bag because of my prize, which is why I had to deal with that lady at the airport at all.

We also got Tom Ford makeup and I got sold. The makeup artist and I talked relationships and she gave me strong brows. "I got the eyebrow pencil," I told Lani and Debie. "...And the eye pencil."  [Long pause] "And a lip gloss."

Don't worry, I wasn't wearing all this makeup when I got mistaken for a dude. Also, in case you are wondering, the event involved models showing off the latest makeup, except for one model who had to wear a scary face mask (as pictured). I bet that was a disappointment for her. It was terrifying. 

Hope you had a fab birthday, Debie! Thanks so much for hosting us, Lani, I had a blast! And thanks for taking these photos, a few of which I swiped for this post.

Tunes Tuesday, "Even If We Try," Night Beds

I am really hoping to go see Winston Yellen of Night Beds live this Thursday at the Black Cat. His voice is just so beautiful I want to hear it in person. Jeff Buckley-esque is the descriptor I've been reading, and that is accurate. Hat tip to my friend Jason for introducing me to Winston's music. 

Sorry, the video is as disturbing as the song is pretty. Maybe just keep the sound on, sensitive readers?

Tunes Tuesday, "No Stranger, " Small Black

This synth-y song is such a pretty escape. And the video is kind of romantic, although the love interest is your run-of-the-mill manic pixie dream girl. 

Small Black 'Limits Of Desire' out now on Jagjaguwar SCD http://www.scdistribution.com/smallblack/ // iTunes http://smarturl.it/smallblack_itunes // Amazon http://smarturl.it/smallblack_amazon // Indies http://smarturl.it/smallblack_indies Created by Mandy Mandelstein and Addison Mehr Featuring Jessica Clinton and Chris Dwan Cinematography by Ivaylo Getov Edited by Joanna Naugle and Addison Mehr Colorist Alan Gordon, Post Pro Gumbo Small Black Artist Page http://www.jagjaguwar.com/artist.php?name=smallblack Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SmallBlk Twitter https://twitter.com/SmallBlk Small Black - "No Stranger" from 'Limits Of Desire' out now on Jagjaguwar

I found this via a Daily Candy playlist by movie and television soundtrack expert Alexandra Patsavas. Definitely check it out, she has a lot of interesting picks from brand new bands. 
 

Tunes Tuesday, "Royals," Lorde

I was just saying that I wanted to do a Tunes Tuesday post but there hadn't been any song this month I'd been wearing out on repeat. Then I heard "Royals" on top 40 radio.  

Have you heard it too? Is it going to become ubiquitous? I would be ok with that. I'm already listening to it over and over again. It's polished to the point of being varnished, but it's got some soul too. And Lorde's voice is cool. She's just 16! 

I'm happy this is on the radio. It's going in the same category as "Safe and Sound" by Capital Cities. I will always crank that up, and I'm stoked those guys have a big hit.

Beyonce's Pixie and a "Cell Phone Mugging"

Hello my lovelies! (TM Cup of Jo)

Am I crazy or did Beyonce get the same haircut as me? Yay pixie cut! Compare for yourself: Queen B's new hair and my Miley-esque cut, which has since grown out a tad. "Maybe she reads Gosh Gee Golly," Joe said. Ha! I'm digging her hair, obviously, since I'm pro-pixie. Anyway, I feel like I'm on the cutting edge today.

Other than that, I've been busy working. And reading crime stats in local blogs, which is one of my more perverse hobbies. I can't find the link, but there was a story recently about a woman who had her bike stolen, then she saw the thief on her bike the next week and took out her cell phone to call the cops and the same guy stole her phone. Maybe that's an urban legend, ha. Just to give you a baseline for my neurosis, when my dad found out that I was moving to Mount Pleasant, he told my mom, "Her chance of survival is slim." 

Yesterday, I sat in the car while Joe ran and grabbed his dry cleaning. It was a nice day and I had the window down while scrolling through Twitter. Sddenly, a hand shot through the window and I heard someone yell, "Give me your phone." I realize now that my reaction time is very,  very slow. It was like being underwater. I found myself screaming "No!" and lunging towards the driver seat. I looked back at my assailant and... it was a friend of mine. It was all a joke. I wasn't going to end up on the pages of a Capitol Hill blog after all. Anyway, my life flashed before my eyes a bit there, but maybe it was a good drill for the real thing. God forbid.

New Apartment: Before Pics

I promised I would post pictures of our new space, and now I'm making good on that promise. Please keep in mind, these are before pictures. Before. That's why it is so messy and haphazard. Yes, that's why. Hopefully it will get better.

When you enter the apartment, the "gear wall" greets you. It's basically a particle board wall and then different hooks and baskets that can be rearranged. I don't know why the management company considers this such a big selling point for the apartment, but they do. Of course, Joe actually does have mountain climbing "gear" but I'm not sure if that's what they had in mind. "Here is our gear wall," I told my friend Haerah when she came to check out our apartment. "Ahh," she said. "It's a really nice stuff board."

Stuff board, gear wall, same difference. The question is, can it be made pretty? I will say it is convenient.

The closet is similar. I loved the concept, and it's pretty spacious. There is storage above the two bars. Joe and I need to work on sharing this space though, since I want to hog it all. Check out those sexy acrylic CB2 bar stools. I got them via Craigslist last weekend from a couple who bought them to stage their home to sell it. So they are practically new. They'll hang out in the closet until I can muster up the funds to buy the matching table.

The kitchen is on the wall with the door, and comes with open shelving and tomato red accent paint. It's pretty cute! I hung up my  Instax photos via the Fred Flare Birds on Wire set that Joe's sister gave me for Christmas. I think I'm going to do a black and white theme in the kitchen area. My plates are ugly, but the glasses are mismatched (all the wine glasses have winery logos), so I don't think I should put them in the open shelves. What do people put in open shelves? Purely decorative items or things they use a lot so they can be lazy and not open doors?

The TV is along the same wall as the kitchen. A coffee table is acting as a makeshift entertainment unit. I don't think there is anywhere else to put the bookshelves, but I'm not sure what should go above the TV and between the bookshelves in terms of wall art. Maybe a gallery wall. Would that look dorky?

Speaking of looking dorky, here is a chair directly in front of a couch. Ha. Our apartment is small and this works for the moment. The orange couch has a place of honor. There's a very Japanese-looking glass wall that can slide back and forth to separate the bedroom from the living room. Here you can see where the kitchen table is currently, not a lot of space for that either. BTW I got a new Air Macbook. That's the reason why I can't afford any furniture. I almost started sobbing when the guy rang my credit card, which is not a normal reaction. But I do love it so far.  When I walked into the Apple store, I thought it smelled like body odor. Maybe it was from the geniuses, or maybe it was the customers' flop sweat when their credit cards are charged.

Oh yeah, and that cool little round grey table is new. I got it at the very inspiring H Street mod vintage furniture store, Hunted House. I was convince to buy it by the proprietor who told me that the coffee table would look at home in Roger's office on Mad Men. Sold! 

He probably says that to everyone. No matter. It is the perfect size and I think it's going to look groovy. 

The bed is squished up against two walls, which doesn't look great, but there's so much more space for my dresser this way. I think it desperately needs a headboard. Remember last time I tried to buy a headboard and gave up? Why are they so expensive?

There are a few interesting other touches, but I'll save them for another day. God willing, it won't still look like this in a year!